[DIRTYSECRET]

Naval Academy 2004. She’ll serve out one more year and leave. That’s how it’s done in today’s Navy.

I like the new IRA-like retirement plan. Anyone can leave at any time with a nest egg. I’ve seen too many career enlisted men who were very bitter and couldn’t wait to get out after 20. The ‘lifers’ were real vegetables.

[Night Hides Not]

I learned about 10 years ago, that if you worked five years in the federal government, you could add in your military time for pension purposes. You had to make a deposit of 3% of your military salary, but that wasn't much.

The only downside was that my term at the FDIC ended just short of 5 years, so I had to find another agency. I ended up at the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the worst 3 years of my life.

Still, I ended up with 16 years for federal purposes, which pays a few bills.

[Verginius Rufus]

I like the new IRA-like retirement plan.

I never was inclined to go to Ireland and join the IRA, but then I never knew anything about their retirement plan.

[pfflier]

The ‘lifers’ were real vegetables.

In the Air Force we had Lifers and we had Flies.

Lifers were career types with zebra sleeves. Some were good some were so-so..

Flies were 20 year E-5s who had attained the lofty goals of being in charge of grounds details and rock painting. We call them flies because they had no redeeming social value but they were always in your s#!t.

[one guy in new jersey]

Naval Academy middies are active duty Navy (USN, not USNR), or, “Regular Navy”.

In other words, she began accumulating time toward the 20-year retirement requirement beginning in Fall 1999 when she arrived on campus as a midshipman 4th class (freshman).